# ἔρχομαι
## Ancient Greek
### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁ergʰ- (“to move, go”), cognate with ὀρχέομαι (orkhéomai), Albanian erdha (“I came”), Old Irish regaid (“will go”, future of téit), Sanskrit ऋघायति (ṛghāyáti, “to be passionate”). Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁r-ske-ti, an inchoative of *h₁er- (“to move, go”).
This is a suppletive verb, with tenses derived from three different roots; see εἶμι (eîmi) and ἦλθον (êlthon) for the etymologies of the other two roots. Discussion of stems, at Notes.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ér.kʰo.mai̯/ → /ˈer.xo.mɛ/ → /ˈer.xo.me/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /ér.kʰo.mai̯/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈer.kʰo.mɛ/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈer.xo.mɛ/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈer.xo.me/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈer.xo.me/

### Verb

ἔρχομαι • (érkhomai)
* (intransitive) to go
* (intransitive) to come

#### Usage notes

ἔρχομαι is a suppletive verb that typically uses forms from other roots for all tenses and moods besides present indicative. Stems:
* ἐρχ- of ἔρχομαι.
* strong εἰ-, weak ἰ- supplied by εἶμι (eîmi) forming present non-indicative and imperfect indicative forms. Its present indicative forms have future meaning in Attic prose.
* strong ἐλευθ-, weak ἐλυθ- with syncope ἐλθ- of unused verb *ἐλεύθω (*eleúthō, “to come”). Later, that verb, meaning "I come," merged with this verb meaning "I go." This is still seen in the present imperative having a connotation of "go away!," with the aorist imperative having a connotation of "come here!."
** from ἐλευθ- the future ἐλεύσομαι (eleúsomai) (alternative future for Epic, Ionic, and Tragic), the derivative ἔλευσις (éleusis, “arrival”)
** from ἐλυθ- the present perfect with attic reduplication ἐλ-έλυθα>ἐλ-ήλυθα (reduplication plus extension of the first vowel).
** ἐλθ- supplies aorist ἦλθον (êlthon)
Past perfect without augment. The aorist imperative has irregular accent on ultima when not in compound ἐλθέ (elthé) and not *ἔλθε. But ἄπελθε. (Along with a few others (λαβέ (labé), ἰδέ (idé), εὑρέ (heuré), εἰπέ (eipé)).

#### Synonyms

* ἀφικνέομαι (aphiknéomai)
* ἥκω (hḗkō)

#### Antonyms

* φεύγω (pheúgō)
* οἴχομαι (oíkhomai)

#### Derived terms

* ἒλευσις (èleusis)
* Ἐλευσίς (Eleusís)
* προσήλυτος (prosḗlutos)

##### Compounds

* ἀμφέρχομαι (amphérkhomai)
* ἀνέρχομαι (anérkhomai)
* ἀντεξέρχομαι (antexérkhomai)
* ἀντεπεξέρχομαι (antepexérkhomai)
* ἀντιπαρέρχομαι (antiparérkhomai)
* ἀπέρχομαι (apérkhomai)
* διαπέρχομαι (diapérkhomai)
* διεξέρχομαι (diexérkhomai)
* διέρχομαι (diérkhomai)
* εἰσέρχομαι (eisérkhomai)
* εἰσέρχομαι (eisérkhomai)
* ἐξανέρχομαι (exanérkhomai)
* ἐξέρχομαι (exérkhomai)
* ἐπανέρχομαι (epanérkhomai)
* ἐπεισέρχομαι (epeisérkhomai)
* ἐπεξέρχομαι (epexérkhomai)
* ἐπέρχομαι (epérkhomai)
* κατέρχομαι (katérkhomai)
* μετέρχομαι (metérkhomai)
* παρεισέρχομαι (pareisérkhomai)
* παρεξέρχομαι (parexérkhomai)
* παρέρχομαι (parérkhomai)
* περιέρχομαι (periérkhomai)
* προαπέρχομαι (proapérkhomai)
* προδιεξέρχομαι (prodiexérkhomai)
* προδιέρχομαι (prodiérkhomai)
* προεισέρχομαι (proeisérkhomai)
* προεξέρχομαι (proexérkhomai)
* προέρχομαι (proérkhomai)
* προσέρχομαι (prosérkhomai)
* συγκατέρχομαι (sunkatérkhomai)
* συμπαρεισέρχομαι (sumpareisérkhomai)
* συνεισέρχομαι (suneisérkhomai)
* συνεξέρχομαι (sunexérkhomai)
* συνέρχομαι (sunérkhomai)
* ὑπεισέρχομαι (hupeisérkhomai)
* ὑπεξέρχομαι (hupexérkhomai)
* ὑπερέρχομαι (huperérkhomai)
* ὑπέρχομαι (hupérkhomai)
* and see more than 80 compounds at perseus

#### Descendants

* Greek: έρχομαι (érchomai, “to come”)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἔρχομαι”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 468

### Further reading

* “ἔρχομαι”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “ἔρχομαι”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “ἔρχομαι”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* ἔρχομαι in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* ἔρχομαι in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “ἔρχομαι”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G2064 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 326